The Friendship Tree: The Life and Poems of Davoren Hanna

The Friendship Tree is the story of young Dublin-born Davoren Hanna (1975-1994), a gifted, cunning, and often ruthless poet who, while profoundly handicapped, struggled to do justice in language to the turblance and wonder within him. Davoren's mother, Brighid (1944-1990), a deeply intelligent and passionate woman, battled for years against the helplessness and scepticism of the experts in the face of Davoren's handicaps and, in the end, literally laid her life on the line to help give her son a voice.

In this book, Davoren's father, Jack, gives a searing account of the heartbreak and exhiliration behind the sometimes baffling public face of his son, whose poetry won acclaim in Britain and Ireland, and whose ebullient spirit won the hears of those he touched during his short life.

'One of the most incisive and humane books I have read in years. The Friendship Tree is an affirmation of that strange and wonderful human ability to turn suffering into poetry and painful human disability into singing dignity.' --Brendan Kennelly